Kannur health inspector dies of stroke; colleagues say she was 'worried about transfer'

Kannur: R Deepalekha (54), the Kannur health inspector who collapsed and died at her workplace on Monday, succumbed to a brain haemorrhage, said Chokli Police, after speaking to the forensic surgeon who conducted the autopsy.

"We have not yet received the autopsy report. But when we spoke to the doctor, he said she died of a brain haemorrhage," said Biju V, Station House Officer of Chokli police station. He said a blood vessel in the brain had ruptured, causing fatal bleeding. The doctor did not indicate what triggered the stroke, the officer said. The postmortem examination was done at Thalassery General Hospital.

Deepalekha, a health inspector with Chokli grama panchayat, collapsed around 12.45 pm on Monday, August 10, while waiting to attend a Health Standing Committee meeting of the panchayat. She was initially taken to a nearby health centre and later shifted to MIMS Hospital in Kannur, where doctors declared her dead.

The death has triggered protests by government employees' organisations, with the CPM-affiliated Kerala Non-Gazetted Officers' (NGO) Union alleging that Deepalekha had been under severe stress over a recent transfer order issued despite her health condition.

Chokli police have registered a case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Transfer controversy
Deepalekha, a native of Mepayil near Vadakara in Kozhikode district, joined Chokli grama panchayat as health inspector on February 10, after receiving a promotion from the post of junior health inspector at Mekunnu.

According to colleagues and union leaders, she met with a scooter accident in March and underwent a prolonged period of treatment and bed rest. Though she resumed duty only recently, they said she continued to face mobility issues and could not walk comfortably or use public transport, said NGO Union Kannur District Secretary Ranjith P.

Her husband, Suresh Babu 'Sreestha', an award-winning playwright and retired health supervisor, often dropped her at work, he said.

Deepalekha was initially transferred from Chokli to Mattannur Municipality, a posting that would have required a daily commute of around 70 kilometres from her home in Vadakara. Later, it was changed to Pinarayi panchayat, said Ranjith. "This was despite Deepalekha personally meeting the DMO (District Medical Officer) and explaining her health condition last month," he said. "I was there. I saw her coming in a taxi," he said.

'She was worried about the transfer'
N Anoop, president of the LDF-controlled Chokli grama panchayat, said Deepalekha received her transfer order from the District Medical Office via WhatsApp at around 10.15 am on Monday and appeared distressed afterwards. "She showed me the transfer order on her phone. She had been under considerable stress ever since she was first informed that she would be transferred to Mattannur," he said.

According to Anoop, Deepalekha was still recovering from injuries sustained in a road accident when the department initiated the transfer process. Before her promotion as health inspector earlier this year, she had served as a junior health inspector in Chokli, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was comfortable in the panchayat. "Travelling to Mattannur every day would have been difficult because she was still recovering from her injuries," Anoop said.

Although the transfer was later revised and she was posted to Pinarayi grama panchayat, Anoop said the new posting did little to ease her concerns. "Before the meeting, she was talking to the Standing Committee chairperson about her concerns about commuting to Pinarayi," he said. A little over two hours after receiving the order, Deepalekha collapsed at the panchayat office.

Leaders of the Kerala NGO Union alleged that the transfer was carried out under pressure from the Congress-affiliated NGO Association.

Retirement, service rules and questions raised
Deepalekha was due to retire next year, according to colleagues.

Union leaders argued that her case deserved special consideration because of her proximity to retirement, health condition and service record, including her work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A senior health department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kerala's service rules and transfer norms allow accommodating employees nearing retirement, particularly at stations close to their home. However, such provisions can be overridden on administrative grounds, he said. "But in Deepalekha's case, if she had approached the (Kerala Administrative) Tribunal, she would have surely obtained a stay against the transfer," the official said and added that the department was aware of her health difficulties.

Protests spread
The Kerala NGO Union staged a one-hour work boycott in all government hospitals across Kannur district from 11 am to noon on Tuesday, alleging that the transfer was insensitive and unnecessary.

Ranjith described the transfer as "politically motivated". "We are going to write to the Chief Minister against such politically motivated and insensitive transfers," he said.

Ranjith claimed Deepalekha's case was not an isolated one. He cited the recent suicide of Ashalatha Athirukuzhi, a senior clerk at the Kasaragod Collectorate. In her dying statement, Ashalatha had told the police about being isolated at her workplace and home. He also referred to Dr K V Radhamani, head of the Paediatrics Department at Government Medical College, Pariyaram, alleging that she was admitted to an intensive care unit after being subjected to pressure over a transfer. Ranjith further claimed that a pharmacist from Kozhikode had been transferred to a village in Kannur district near the Karnataka border shortly after Deepalekha's death.

The NGO Union has announced protest marches to the Secretariat and district collectorates on August 13, demanding what it called a more humane approach to transfers involving employees with health issues and those nearing retirement.

Deepalekha's body was taken to her hometown at Mepayil after the postmortem examination and was cremated on Tuesday.

She is survived by her husband and daughter.